


Discoveries

by nanuk_dain



Series: Impossible Relationships [9]
Category: Generation Kill
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, Mild Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-19
Updated: 2011-11-19
Packaged: 2017-10-26 06:50:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/280023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nanuk_dain/pseuds/nanuk_dain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Brad watches something he never in his life expected to see.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Discoveries

  
[   
](http://pics.livejournal.com/nanuk_dain/pic/000be3gq)   


 

Brad looked after Ray's retreating figure with a worried frown.

He could read the pain, the pent up emotion, the desperation in every single one of Ray's movements, in his every step and even in the way he held himself. His body language screamed when Ray himself was unusually silent. Brad had seen it coming ever since they'd left Baghdad, had waited for it, and he knew it wasn't the time to offer comfort. He understood where the sudden explosion had come from, knew that Ray was suffering from going cold turkey off Ripped Fuel, knew that he felt like everything was coming down on him. Ray was just barely keeping it together, and any sign of compassion would tear down his walls, break his restraint, and Brad was well aware Ray was desperately trying to keep exactly that from happening.

So Brad stayed on the airfield with the other men and watched how Ray walked off towards the buildings, finally disappearing around the corner of the half destroyed warehouse. He deserved a moment alone to regain his composure, and so Brad decided to give him a few minutes before he was going to look for Ray to make sure that he was okay.

Well, as okay as you could be in this hellhole.

So he waited a while before he followed Ray. Ray wasn't behind the building, so Brad walked around it and inside. It was remarkably empty with most of the men out on the field playing ball and the rest busy with inventory, but there was still no sign of Ray anywhere. Brad frowned and made his way up the stairs to the first floor. There were several smaller rooms up here that had been offices at some point long past, and Brad checked them one after the other. He was quite sure Ray had hidden somewhere out of the way to lick his wounds until he was ready to go back and face the other men.

Brad was just about to turn the corner to the last office when his instincts screamed, alerting him that something was off. His footfall became even more silent than it had already been and he turned with his back towards the wall, slowly and carefully approaching the corner of the doorframe to peek around it. He took in the scene inside the room with one quick glance, just like he had been trained to do, before he focussed on the target – Ray, in this case.

Ray wasn't alone, like Brad had expected. In fact, it was only when Brad recognised Doc Bryan's tell-tale bandana that he realised that the corpsman had been missing on the field. He must have gone after Ray right away, and Brad had never even seen him leaving.

Brad suppressed a snort. What great a Recon Marine he was. Really fantastic. Didn't even notice somebody walking off right under his nose.

But what really surprised him was that Doc Bryan's hands were touching Ray's neck – his bare hands, no latex gloves – and his forehead was resting against Ray's. Ray's eyes were screwed closed, his shoulders were tense and his hands were clenched into fists at his sides. The two men were too far away for Brad to hear them, but he could tell that Doc Bryan was saying something to Ray, his thumbs stroking over the side of Ray's tense neck in a soothing motion that seemed strangely intimate to Brad, more a caress that a simple touch.

To Brad's surprise, Ray responded to Doc Bryan's presence, be it his words or his touch, and the tension left his body almost visibly. He seemed to lean into the Doc's touch, then he took a step closer and let his head sag forwards until it rested on Doc Bryan's shoulder, his nose buried against the corpsman's neck, not caring the least about the sweat that stained Doc Bryan's T-shirt.

Brad tensed where he stood behind the wall. He had never seen Ray like this, stripped off all his bullshit, all his talk, all his rants and all his high-strung energy. Suddenly, he looked incredibly young to Brad, vulnerable in a way he'd never allowed to show before. It was a side that Brad had always suspected was there, but Ray was very good at hiding it. Brad had never seen it shine through so clearly, and it made him aware of how young Ray really was. It was so easy to forget.

Doc Bryan's arms wrapped around Ray's shoulders and pulled him in, then he turned his head and pressed a lingering kiss to Ray's temple. It was a soft kiss, gentle and caring, meant to comfort and support, speaking of a trust and familiarity that Brad had never once noticed between the Doc and Ray before. Ray's arms tightened around the corpsman's waist and he buried his face against the skin of Doc Bryan's neck even further, as if he was trying to hide from the world.

Out of the blue, Doc Bryan looked up, straight at where Brad was standing mostly hidden behind the doorframe, and Brad found himself staring in the corpsman's eyes over Ray's head. Doc Bryan didn't pull back, instead he settled his hand on the back of Ray's neck in a gesture that was as much protective as it was possessive. He stared at Brad, firmly, never backing down, challenging him and at the same time telling Brad without words that he would protect Ray no matter what. Even from Brad should it become necessary.

Brad held his gaze steadily, then he gave a small nod. After a moment, Doc Bryan returned it, understanding.

Brad pulled back to leave them alone. He knew he wasn't needed here. He might never have expected what he'd just seen – Doc Bryan was the very last person he had ever expected Ray to be close to, to be intimate with so much that he trust him with his guard shattered to pieces – but every gesture, every touch, every action and reaction had told him loud and clear that he didn't need to worry.

Ray was in good hands.


End file.
